USC Trojans atop of MPSF league

The No. 2 USC Trojans were the winners of the past week in the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championships. They recorded new important victories in the MPSF games and continued winning streak.

The highlight of the past week was an encounter between No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 USC. Stanford was the host of the game in which USC took control from the beginning. The Trojans rushed to a 3:0 lead. After the first quarter, USC led 4:1. Stanford recovered from the early shock and it reduced the deficit to one (5:4) in the third period. The Trojans, boosted by their outstanding goalkeeper Amanda Longan (16 saves), responded with three goals in a row and jumped to 8:4. Stanford’s late goal couldn’t change the outcome. USC won 8:5. Hayley McKelvey and Paige Hauschild scored six of eight USC’s goals (three each).

USC 8:5 Stanford
(4:1, 0:1, 2:2, 2:1)

After the great win over Stanford, USC travelled to Saratoga to face No. 12 San Jose. The Trojans, led by Brianna Daboub (3 goals) had no mercy and achieved a convincing 12:1 victory. That was their 10th win in a row. At the moment, USC has excellent 20-1 overall record. The team of the University of Southern California, as the only unbeaten team in the MPSF league (4-0), already secured the 1st place in the Conference, before the Conference tournament. (April 27 – April 29).

USC 12:1 San Jose State
(3:0, 3:0, 2:0, 4:1)

Stanford didn’t manage to stop USC’s unbeaten run, but after the loss to USC, the Cardinal returned on the winning road. Stanford hosted No. 6 Arizona State. The first quarter was balanced (1:1). The home side secured a win in the second and in the third period. At halftime, Stanford water polo players were 4:2 up. In the third period, they added three unanswered goals for a 7:2 lead. In the remaining time, the home team cruised to a 10:4 win. Makenzie Fisher was the best player of the game, scoring 5 goals.

Stanford 10:4 Arizona
(1:1, 3:1, 3:2, 3:0)

Regular season is near the end

The regular season of the MPSF league will be closed next weekend with games USC – UCLA and San Jose State – Stanford. The California Bears will be the host of the 2018 MPSF Championships tournament (April 27 – April 29).

Schedule of the MPSF tournament

April 27: No. 3 Stanford or UCLA – No. 6 San Jose State (Game 1), No. 4 Stanford or UCLA (Game 2).
April 28: No. 1 USC – winner Game 2, No. 2 California – winner Game 1.
April 29: The final and the game for the 3rd place.

Hawai’i with no mercy

No. 5 Hawai’i dominates in the Big West Conference. Hawai’i recorded two wins last week (11:4 over UC Santa Barbara and 12:6 over CSUN) and completed the Big West regular season beating all five rivals.

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